Psalm 116 (B)

Psalm 116

I keep my faith, even in times of great turmoil; 
I invite others to Awaken to the joy of your Presence.
Nan C. Merrill Psalm 116

Click on the link for the Psalm above for the text or listen to Psalm 116:

Reflection:

10 I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”  NRSV

10 I was faithful to you
    when I was suffering,
11     though in my confusion I said,
    “I can’t trust anyone!” CEB

The verdict of not guilty for Kyle Rittenhouse is upsetting but not unexpected. Our system is set up to protect white men and to oppress BIPOC. This verdict feels so wrong. And yet, I still believe that God is working for justice and freedom for the oppressed. I pray that we can be liberated to be more humane. I know that God has chosen to work through us, flawed as we are, to bring about justice and peace. But right now, this sucks. God, make your presence known.

Prayer:

The Lord’s Prayer is about the amount of time you need for hand scrubbing 😉 

Breath Prayer:  I am including breath prayers because this is the practice that I engage in most often.  Sometimes, I simply manage my breathing as I would when I was singing as a warmup and strengthening exercise.  This practice helps me to feel centered, strong, and connected with myself and the divine.  Sometimes, I add words or intentions for the inhalation and exhalation.  

Nicole Cardoza’s Guided Meditation For Anxiety
Try this short meditation, created by Yoga Foster and Reclamation Ventures founder Nicole Cardoza, the next time you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious.  Read in Yoga Journal.

Mr. Roger’s “Taking a breath”  This one is short, but Mr. Roger’s voice is calming for me (and many Pittsburghers) and even his virtual presence can summon childhood memories of calmness and safety.  

Let us pray:

One way to think about breath prayer is that whatever is exhaled other people will inhale. So, sometimes we might inhale and exhale the same idea with the hope that what we receive from God, we can share with others. For example, you may imagine receiving God’s steadfast love while praying that others are receiving God’s steadfast love.

Another way to think about breath prayer is to pick something you would like to receive for your inhalation and something you would like to release for your exhalation. The idea is to keep it simple, so I encourage you to simply find one word for each inhale and one word for each exhale. That simple prayer could be something like this: God fill me with your Holy spirit. I receive your love and release my grief.

Or you may want to use a short phrase: I am allowed to be upset. Grief does not shake my faith. My feelings are valid in prayer. God loves me still.

Ok, everyone take a deep breath. Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. Repeat as needed.

Sources and notes:

“Psalm 116 is the fourth of the Egyptian Hallel psalms, one of those read while drinking the fourth cup of wine at the conclusion of the Passover Seder. It echoes many of the themes the reader or hearer encounters in Psalm 115, suggesting that the two should be considered “twin” psalms, with Psalm 116 responding to questions and/or statements posed in Psalm 115 (see especially 115:6 and 116:2; 115:1 and 116:5; 115:7 and 116:8, 17). Psalm 115 is a call to trust (see vv. 9-11). Psalm 116 is an individual hymn of thanksgiving, in which a psalm singer praises God for deliverance from some trying situation (oppression, war, sickness, etc.).” W p. 138

WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.

Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.

Brueggemann Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Chittister Chittister, Joan. (2011). Songs of the heart: reflections on the psalms. John Garratt Publishing. 

WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.

Creach Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

DAFLER, J. (2021). PSOBRIETY: A journey of recovery through the psalms. Louisville, KY: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX.

W de Claisse-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 4-5. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 22. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2020. 

W Hopkins, Denise Dombkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 2-3. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 21. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2016. 

NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Lewis, C. S. (2017). Reflections on the Psalms. Harper One, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers. 

Mays Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.

McCann McCann, J. C. (1993). A theological introduction to the book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Merrill, N. C. (2020). Psalms for praying an invitation to wholeness (10th Anniversary Edition ed.). London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Miller Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.

Schlimm Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know.Nashville, TN: Abington Press.

Spong Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.

WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.

OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.

I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020 shortly after we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom.  Many churches use the revised common lectionary that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C).  Starting in Advent 2019, Third Church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C.  Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others.  Reflections exploring the Psalms in year D.  While we were using Year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A.  Now that we are rejoining those who use the lectionary, we are on Year B.  This we hope will keep all of us planning and preparing worship on the same page.  

I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections when I’m following the Revised Common Lectionary.

Other Year B Psalm blog posts:

Advent – Transfiguration: 1^st Sunday in Advent Psalm 80, 2^nd Sunday in Advent Psalm 85, 3^rdSunday in Advent Psalm 126, 4^th Sunday in Advent Psalm 89, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1^st Sunday after Christmas, Psalm 148, New Year’s Day Psalm 8, 2^nd Sunday after Christmas Psalm 147, Epiphany Psalm 72, 1^st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2^nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 139, 3^rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 62, 4^th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 111, 5^th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 147, Transfiguration Sunday (Sunday before Lent) Psalm 50

Lent: Ash Wednesday Psalm 51, 1^st Sunday in Lent Psalm 25, 2^nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 22, 3^rd Sunday in Lent Psalm 19, 4^th Sunday in Lent Psalm 107, 5^th Sunday in Lent Psalm 51 or Psalm 119:9-16, 6^th Sunday in Lent (Palm or Passion Sunday) Psalm 118 or 31

Holy Week: Monday Psalm 36, Tuesday Psalm 71, Wednesday Psalm 70, Maundy Thursday Psalm 116, Good Friday Psalm 22, Holy Saturday Psalm 31

Easter: Easter Psalm 118 or 114, 2^nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 133, 3^rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 4, 4^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 23, 5^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 22, 6^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 98, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 1, Day of Pentecost Psalm 104

Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time): 1^st Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) Psalm 29, 2^nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 138 or Psalm 130, 3^rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 20 or Psalm 92, 4^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 9 or Psalm 133 or Psalm 107, 5^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 30, 6^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 48 or Psalm 123, 7^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 24 or Psalm 85, 8^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 89 or Psalm 23, 9^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 14 or Psalm 145, 10^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 51 or Psalm 78, 11^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 34, 12^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 111 or Psalm 34, 13^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 84 or Psalm 34, 14^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 45 or Psalm 15, 15^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 125 or Psalm 146, 16^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 19 or Psalm 116, 17^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 1 or Psalm 54, 18^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 124 or Psalm 19, 19^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 26 or Psalm 8, 20^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 22 or Psalm 90, 21^st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 104 or Psalm 91, 22^nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 34 or Psalm 126, 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 146 or 119, 24^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 127 or Psalm 146, 25^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 16, 26^th Sunday after Pentecost (Christ the King) Psalm 132 or Psalm 93.